WO2021213330A1

WO2021213330A1 - Monitoring system and elevator

Info

Publication number: WO2021213330A1
Application number: PCT/CN2021/088140
Authority: WO
Inventors: Tomio PIHKALA; Nigel Smith
Original assignee: Kone Corporation; Kone Elevators Co., Ltd.
Priority date: 2020-04-21
Filing date: 2021-04-19
Publication date: 2021-10-28
Also published as: CN111453576A; CN111453576B

Abstract

The present invention discloses a monitoring system, which includes: a camera configured to capture images of an enclosed region; a visual information recognition unit configured to receive information from the camera, recognize whether an object located in the region normatively wears a mask, and form a recognition data; and a controller configured to receive the recognition data from the visual information recognition unit. The present invention further discloses an elevator including the monitoring system. Through this monitoring system, it is possible to identify a situation of not wearing masks normatively and reduce the risk of infection through subsequent actions.

Description

MONITORING SYSTEM AND ELEVATOR

Technical field

The present invention relates to a monitoring system and an elevator including the monitoring system.

Background

Some viruses, etc. have been proved to be transmissible by droplets. Wearing a mask is considered to be an effective way to minimize the risk of virus infection. In densely populated buildings, such as shopping malls, elevator halls or elevator cars, there is a risk of infection if someone does not wear a mask because of their relative isolation. In order to reduce or block the spread of virus, especially in the period of virus pandemic, it is necessary to take measures for people in dense regions.

Summary

In view of the above problem, according to a first aspect of the present invention, a monitoring system is provided, which includes: a camera configured to capture images of an enclosed region; a visual information recognition unit configured to receive information from the camera, recognize whether an object located in the region normatively wears a mask, and form a recognition data; and a controller configured to receive the recognition data from the visual information recognition unit.

The monitoring system according to the present invention can monitor the situation of wearing masks in densely populated regions, so that various responses can be made.

The monitoring system according to the present invention can have one or more of the following features.

According to one embodiment, the controller is configured such that when the recognition data indicates that the object in the region is not wearing the mask normatively, a first action is triggered.

According to one embodiment, the monitoring system further includes a mode selector, via which a normal mode or a mask mode can be selected, the controller is able to trigger the first action only in the case where the mask mode is selected. Through the mode selector, it is convenient for administrators to choose different modes in different periods.

According to one embodiment, not wearing the mask normatively includes: not wearing the mask at all, and the mask not covering the mouth and nose correctly. The consequences of not wearing a mask correctly are similar to those of not wearing a mask, which also needs to be monitored.

According to one embodiment, the object is a person, or the object is a person and a pet. Pets may also be infected and spread viruses, so it can also be an object monitored by the monitoring system.

According to one embodiment, the monitoring system further includes a responder located in the region, the responder includes a speaker and/or a display screen, and the first action includes actuating the responder to issue a voice reminder and/or a visual reminder to the region, so as to remind the object that is not wearing the mask normatively to wear the mask normatively. Through the speaker and/or display screen, the object can be reminded to wear the mask correctly and reduce the risk of infection.

According to one embodiment, the first action includes sending a notification to the administrator to inform about the risk of infection and/or reminding to carry out disinfection work. Informing about the risk of infection is helpful to master the situation of the objects in this region, and timely disinfection makes the epidemic prevention more efficient and targeted.

According to one embodiment, the monitoring system is provided with a plurality of cameras with different orientations. Thus the face of the object in the region can be comprehensively captured.

According to one embodiment, the region is an elevator lobby or an elevator car or a hotel lobby or a shop in a shopping mall. Places where crowds are dense, air is not circulated well or places where people need to wait can be monitored regions.

According to one embodiment, the region is an elevator car, and the first action includes notifying the object in the elevator car that is not wearing the mask normatively to leave the car or to wear the mask normatively, and controlling the elevator to leave the current floor only after all the objects in the car wear masks normatively. The elevator car is a relatively narrow space, which is conducive to virus infection. It is helpful to reduce the risk of infection by closing the elevator door and leaving the current floor after all objects in the car wear masks normatively.

According to one embodiment, the visual information recognition unit is further configured to recognize a distribution of persons in the region and form part of the recognition data, the controller is further configured to trigger a second action when a distance between persons is less than a predetermined distance, and the second action includes notifying persons in the region to separate from each other by voice. Increasing the distance between persons is also one of the effective ways to reduce the risk of infection.

According to one embodiment, the region is an elevator car, and the second action further includes controlling the elevator to leave the current floor only after the distance between persons in the car is greater than or equal to the predetermined distance. This can ensure that there will not be too many people gathered in the elevator car, and ensure the safe distance between persons.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, an elevator is provided, which includes the monitoring system having the above configuration.

Brief description of the drawings

In order to clearly illustrate the technical solution of the embodiments of the present invention, the drawings of the embodiments will be briefly described in the following. The drawings are only used to illustrate some embodiments of the present invention, but not to limit all embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a monitoring system according to the present invention.

Detailed description

In order to make objects, technical details and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention apparent, the technical solutions of the embodiment will be described in a clearly and fully understandable way in connection with the drawings related to the embodiments of the present disclosure. In the drawings, the same reference numerals represent the same parts. It should be noted that the described embodiments are just a part but not all of the embodiments of the present invention. Based on the described embodiments herein, those skilled in the art can obtain other embodiment (s) , without any inventive work, which should be within the scope of the present invention.

Unless otherwise defined, all the technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meanings as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention belongs. The terms “first, ” “second, ” etc., which are used in the description and the claims of the present application, are not intended to indicate any sequence, amount or importance, but distinguish various components. Similarly, similar words such as “a” , “an” or “the” do not indicate the limitation of quantity, but indicate the existence of at least one. The terms “comprise, ” “comprising, ” “include, ” “including, ” etc., are intended to specify that the elements or the objects stated before these terms encompass the elements or the objects and equivalents thereof listed after these terms, but do not preclude the other elements or objects.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail by describing exemplary embodiments.

The monitoring system 100 is used for monitoring the situation of a region and triggering actions when certain conditions are met, preferably monitoring the situation of an enclosed region. Those skilled in the art can understand that the monitoring system 100 can be used to monitor not only enclosed regions but also non-closed regions. In addition, those skilled in the art can understand that "enclosed" here means opposite to outdoor, and does not mean completely enclosed, and any space in a building can be the enclosed region here. Enclosed regions can be crowded places such as elevator lobby, an elevator car, a hotel lobby or a shop in a shopping mall, etc. Those skilled in the art can understand that this region is not limited to the above places, but can also be any regions that need to be monitored. These regions generally have their administrators. In this paper, administrators refer to the owners, service personnel, property personnel, or maintenance personnel of the regions. In the period of virus epidemic, administrators can also refer to epidemic prevention and control personnel.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a monitoring system 100 according to the present invention. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the monitoring system 100 can include: a camera 120 configured to capture an image of a region; a visual information recognition unit 130, configured to receive information from the camera 120, and recognize whether an object located in the region wears a mask normatively, and form a recognition data; and a controller 140 configured to receive the recognition data from the visual information recognition unit 130. The controller 140 can be configured such that when the recognition data indicates that the object in the region is not wearing the mask normatively, a first action is triggered. The monitoring system 100 according to the present invention can further include a mode selector 110. The mode selector 110 is configured to select a normal mode or a mask mode by an administrator. In the normal mode, no additional operations will be performed. In the mask mode, the monitoring system 100 is used to monitor the mask wearing condition in the region and take corresponding actions, for example, the controller can trigger the first action only in the mask mode. Optionally, the monitoring system 100 further includes a responder 150, the responder 150 can be a speaker and/or a display screen. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the camera 120, the visual information recognition unit 130, the controller 140, and the responder 150 are communicatively connected in sequence.

Some people do not wear masks normatively in order to cope with regulations or breathe more smoothly. Therefore, when the visual information recognition unit 130 recognizes whether the object is wearing a mask normatively, not wearing masks normatively includes two cases in which the mask is not worn at all and the mask does not cover the mouth and nose correctly. As long as the mouth or nose of the object is exposed, it is considered that the mask is not worn normatively. In this way, the situation of wearing masks can be comprehensively monitored and more accurate judgments can be made.

Because the objects in the region can have multiple orientations, for example, there are people facing different directions, the monitoring system 100 can be provided with multiple cameras 120 with different orientations to comprehensively capture the faces of the objects in the region.

The monitored object can be people. Because some viruses can also spread through animals, the monitored objects can also be people and pets, including but not limited to cats and dogs.

The first action includes one or more of the following: (1) actuating the speaker in the region to send a voice reminder to the region, so as to remind an object who is not wearing a mask normatively to wear the mask normatively; (2) actuating the display screen in the region to send a visual reminder to the region, thereby reminding the object who does not wear the mask normatively; (3) sending a notice to the administrator to inform the infection risk and/or remind him to carry out disinfection work; (4) when the region is an elevator car, informing the elevator car by voice that the object who does not wear the mask normatively leave the car or wear mask normatively, and control the elevator car to leave the current floor after all the objects in the elevator car wearing masks normatively.

The visual information recognition unit 130 can also be configured to recognize the distribution of persons in the region and form a part of the recognition data. The controller 140 is also configured to trigger a second action when the distance between persons is less than a predetermined distance.

The second action includes one or more of the following: (1) voice notifying to persons in the region to separate from each other; (2) when the region is an elevator car, controlling the elevator to leave the current floor only after the distance between persons in the car is greater than or equal to the predetermined distance.

The present invention further provides an elevator, which includes the monitoring system 100 configured as above.

The following describes the present invention more directly by describing several scenarios.

Scenario 1: A pet in a hotel lobby does not wear a mask, and the speaker sends out a voice reminder to remind the pet owner to wear a mask for the pet.

Scenario 2: Passengers waiting in the elevator lobby do not wear masks normatively, and their noses are exposed, the display screen beside the elevator car displays a reminder of wearing the mask normatively and shows an example picture of wearing the mask normatively, and the speaker sends out a voice reminder. In addition, a notice will be sent to the building administrator to inform the infection risk.

Scenario 3: The passengers in the elevator car are not wearing masks, and the speakers in the elevator car sends out a voice reminder to remind them to wear masks. In addition, a notice will be sent to the service personnel to remind them of the need for disinfection.

Scenario 4: The passengers in the elevator car are not wearing masks, the speaker in the elevator car inform the passengers by voice to leave the car or wear masks, and the elevator cannot leave the current floor until all passengers wear masks. In addition, a notice will be sent to the building owner to inform him of the risk of infection.

The monitoring system 100 according to the present invention can monitor the situation of wearing masks in densely populated regions and make various countermeasures, such as reminding to wear masks, informing of infection risks, reminding to disinfect, etc., so as to realize effective epidemic prevention.

The exemplary embodiments of the monitoring system 100 and the elevator provided by the present invention have been described in detail above with reference to preferred embodiments, however, those skilled in the art can understand that without departing from the concept of the present invention, various changes and modifications can be made to the above specific embodiments, and various technical features and structures provided by the present invention can be combined in various ways without exceeding the protection scope of the present invention.

List of reference numerals

100 monitoring system

110 mode selector

120 camera

130 visual information recognition unit

140 controller

150 responder

Claims

A monitoring system, comprising:

a camera configured to capture images of an enclosed region;

a visual information recognition unit configured to receive information from the camera, recognize whether an object located in the region normatively wears a mask, and form a recognition data; and

a controller configured to receive the recognition data from the visual information recognition unit.
The monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the controller is configured such that when the recognition data indicates that the object in the region is not wearing the mask normatively, a first action is triggered.
The monitoring system according to claim 2, further comprising a mode selector, via which a normal mode or a mask mode can be selected, the controller is able to trigger the first action only in the case where the mask mode is selected.
The monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein not wearing the mask normatively comprises: not wearing the mask at all, and the mask not covering the mouth and nose correctly.
The monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the object is a person, or the object is a person and a pet.
The monitoring system according to claim 2, further comprising a responder located in the region, the responder comprises a speaker and/or a display screen, and the first action comprises actuating the responder to issue a voice reminder and/or a visual reminder to the region, so as to remind the object that is not wearing the mask normatively to wear the mask normatively.
The monitoring system according to claim 2, wherein the first action comprises sending a notification to the administrator to inform about the risk of infection and/or reminding to carry out disinfection work.
The monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the monitoring system is provided with a plurality of cameras with different orientations.
The monitoring system according to any one of claims 1-8, wherein the region is an elevator lobby or an elevator car or a hotel lobby or a shop in a shopping mall.
The monitoring system according to any one of claims 2-8, wherein the region is an elevator car, and the first action comprises notifying the object in the elevator car that is not wearing the mask normatively to leave the car or to wear the mask normatively, and controlling the elevator to leave the current floor only after all the objects in the car wear masks normatively.
The monitoring system according to any one of claims 1-8, wherein the visual information recognition unit is further configured to recognize a distribution of persons in the region and form part of the recognition data, the controller is further configured to trigger a second action when a distance between persons is less than a predetermined distance, and the second action comprises notifying persons in the region to separate from each other by voice.
The monitoring system according to claim 11, wherein the region is an elevator car, and the second action further comprises controlling the elevator to leave the current floor only after the distance between persons in the car is greater than or equal to the predetermined distance.
An elevator comprising the monitoring system according to any one of claims 1-8, and 10-12.